A tenacious Iga Swiatek advanced to the second week of the Australian Open with a decisive victory against Emma Raducanu on Saturday, keeping her on track for her first Australian Open championship. In a gruelling match against the former US Open champions, Swiatek defeated Raducanu, winning 6-1, 6-0. She rattled off 11 straight games from 1-1. On Rod Laver Arena, five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek blasted 24 winners against Raducanu’s nine.
Raducanu, the winner of Flushing Meadows in 2021, had never advanced to the third round in Melbourne. Swiatek, who won in New York in 2022, hopes to improve her inconsistent performance at the Australian Open. She has only advanced to one semifinal this year. With only 10 losses in her first three games, she seems poised to accomplish that in some fashion.
In her opening service game, she placed Raducanu, 22, under a lot of pressure right away, forcing the Briton to save break points. Raducanu would go on to win just one match. The 23-year-old Polish grabbed charge, winning the set in 31 minutes with her depth, power, and accuracy. At the beginning of the second, Raducanu dropped her serve once more as she felt the heat.
Iga Swiatek Ends Debate
On the Swiatek serve, Raducanu had a fleeting chance to escape a terrifying 6-0 “bagel” at 0-5 30-0. However, Swiatek ended the match in just one hour and ten minutes. Levelling the score at 30-30 with a forehand winner and an unreturned serve. Raducanu ranked 61, has only made one Wimbledon fourth-round appearance since winning the US Open. It has been her best Slam performance.
She required an injury timeout for a tight leg muscle in the previous round and had to withdraw from her Australian Open warm-up event in Auckland due to a back issue. Swiatek is getting closer to reaching his first Grand Slam final. A possible semi-final matchup with Elena Rybakina appears to be her biggest obstacle, while the other half of the draw has the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and the in-form Coco Gauff.
